Thursday, May 17, 2007

This dish reminds of my dear friend Valentina – she is crazy for chickpeas and I’m sure she’d love this.

There’s not much left to say about Donna Hay’s recipes – they look good, taste fantastic and are not over the top complicated to put together. Her success is totally deserved – she’s the real deal, in my humble opinion.

What a delicious way to have chickpeas – they were the perfect side for the fish, which was unbelievably easy to prepare and full of flavor, even though I didn’t use the chilli.

This is my contribution to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging – I keep forgetting to mention that it was created by the lovely Kalyn - this time hosted by Rinku from Cooking in Westchester.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the oil, leeks and lemon zest, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until the leeks are golden and a little crisp. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir through the parsley and salt.

To cook the fish, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, cumin and chilli and cook for 3 minutes. Add the fish to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until just cooked through.

Place the chickpeas on serving plates, place the fish on the side and serve with a lime wedge.

Patricia--I am SO making this meal this weekend! The chickpeas and the fish both sound amazing. And even better, they don't sound complicated. I promise to give you credit when praise is heaped upon me.

Hi, Sarah!! Thank you for visiting my blog! I love leeks and I think they paired well with the chickpeas.

Gattina, I like cumin a lot, too!*kiss*

Terry, I'd love to hear your opinion about it, my friend. And you're right - they're not complicated, not at all.

Nora, I'll keep that suggestion in mind. :)

Tigerfish, thank you, sweetie!

Anh, Aussies rock! :)I've been meaning to buy one of Bill's books too. I'm so glad to know that you liked the chicken, dear!! Thanks for telling me!

Kalyn, I think you can use some of her recipes and adjust them to South Beach. She adds an Asian touch to some of her food, I don't know if you like that.

Tanna, I think it has many good flavors and healthy tones, too. My mom used to say (when I was little) that fish makes you smart. ;)

Sher, thank you, dear!

Joey, I know you're a big Donna fan - like me! ;)Good to have you back, sweetie!

Jenjen, I hope you like it! Thank you!

Lydia, for this dish I cooked my own chickpeas, but I forgot to soak them so I had to use a pressure cooker. :)

Valentina, I try to vary because if it were up to my husband's food all you'd see was beef, beef, beef. :)Thank you, sweetie! I appreciate your kind words!I'd love to have a neighbor like you, you bet!

Hello, Amanda! Thank you for your visit and for the lovely comment! I hope you visit me again!

Rose, that soup sounds delicious - I heard this morning that next week is gonna be a very cold week. That soup would be the perfect dinner!

OK, girl, you've got my attention here. I adore chickpeas, and fish is a staple for me. I'm also a chili fan, so I'm going to make this one with the chili. This looks so easy and soooo very, very good!!!

hey i'm crazy for chickpeas too...but one thing u may not know about it is that if u over indulge then u'll be farting your way to the high skies...hahaha...not thats not very lady like...but i had to tell you this !

Patricia--I finally got around to making this tonight. A big hit with everyone! I also didn't have a chili pepper, so I added about a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper that gave it just a bit of heat. I served a fruit salad of mango, strawberries and banana as a side. It played wonderfully with the intense flavors of the two starring dishes. Thanks for the great recipes!

Due to the fact I expected carb-limited guests, I substituted Shirataki (the kind made with some tofu) that had been rinsed and then boiled for a minute or two for the garbanzo beans. Delish. And happy guests.

I don't usually use cumin except in a few indian recipes I have. This was a nice way to prepare fish. I used scrod as it was on-sale, however I think the dish deserved sablefish (or the 2x times the price marked up "black cod" which is sablefish just more expensive).

PS: Cut the Shiratki noodles with kitchen shears a couple times to facilitate mixing. They are long and rubbery, cutting them makes the dish meld better.

PPS: I didn't have the vaguely described "chili pepper," so I used a couple shakes of dried red pepper flakes (with seeds.)